Hi All,

I need some input from folks not involved in the situation to give me a balanced perspective.  

Our house has been on the market 5 months - we've had about 8 showings, but as it is most places the market is pretty dead.  We've dropped the price from $339K to $299K - which is lower than the rest of the current comps in the area.  Saturday we recieved an offer for $30K less than our $299K asking price.  We figured they were testing the waters, trying to see if we were desperate and would jump at the low ball offer.  Since we aren't desperate, we accepted all the terms but countered at $7500 less than the asking price.  Their realtor told our realtor that they were insulted at our counter offer and that she had to really calm them down.  

My question is:  I wasn't offended by their low ball offer, why would they be insulted by our counter?  Is this a negotiating tactic?  If so, I would say it has the opposite affect on me as I'm ready to pull our counter offer off the table and tell them to get lost.  My husband is telling me to let it ride and see what happens.  We don't have to sell, but would like to find a smaller place where we can park the RV and boat on our property. 

Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.

They're not offended, it's a bargaining tactic. Your husband is right don't respond to it and see what they really do. They'll either come up slightly or leave it be, in which case the next move is up to you. Never be insulted with anything someone does in a business situation. Good luck, Fred

Who knows? Maybe they were insulted but if you take what they offer they will probably get over it. It sounds to me like the Realtor is fighting for their client. 'Insulted', 'time to calm down'--emotional words and my guess is that those could be the Realtor's approach. I agree--let it ride see what happens. Good luck, Randy

It would depend on how desperate I was to sell the property but I would probably withdraw my counter and stay at your already lowered price. If they are offended already you sure are not going to offend them any worse. I do have a tendancy to get a little stiff necked when someone tries to "handle" me. Good luck with your house.

Thanks for your rational responses.  I figure if it's meant to be, it will be.  If not, well then there is something else in store for us. 

"Their realtor told our realtor that they were insulted at our counter offer and that she had to really calm them down. "

If your Realtor is experienced, she should have immediately countered with "well my clients were insulted by your lowball offer and I had to convince them that this offer deserved any response at all".

Since your realtor has to bring all offers to your attention, part of her responsibility is to help you sort out the lookie-loo shoppers, the investors trying to take advantage of the situation, and the real buyers looking for a home.

"We've dropped the price from $339K to $299K - which is lower than the rest of the current comps in the area."
If your price is truly competitive with current (actual sales within 6 months) and valid comps and you're not desperate, then you made the right move.
A common problem I saw when selling my Ca home recently, was that many realtors used inflated comps to make the seller feel good and to get their listing, but in reality their listing price was out of line based on actual current comps and the direction of the local market.
The keys to this market are competitive pricing, move-in condition, and patience.  Hang in there

Jim

Maybe you need to remind your realtor that they are working for you and not the buyer. Either way,good luck on the sale of your house.Sure wish ours was sold also.

-- Edited by macattack at 21:39, 2008-09-01

ditoo ditto ditto ditto what macattack said...

At this time, potential buyers think they have the upper hand. Our house has been on market since April. We have 20x30 steel building on property. One potential buyer wanted us to REMOVE the building. It is only 3 years old. Also, we are throwing in our washer and dryer - no charge. Both the same color and in a separate laundry room. But not same brand. They wanted a NEW washer and dryer. Also, they don't like the paint color in the kitchen. Wanted US to repaint it for them. Answer was NO, No and No. If we agreed to any of the above, what would be their next demand. Oh yes, we have a fish pond on the property. They wanted to know if we would be leaving the fish. Of course not - we planned on keeping them in our RV toilet!!!!

Phyllis you are cracking me up. So glad you still have a great sense of humor after all that. <g>

Phyllis,

Thanks for sharing - you've put it all in perspective for me.  

We are doing what we can on our part so if it happens it happens and we'll move on.  So far no requests to paint, remove a pole barn, or buy new appliances though - where do some people get off?  Might as well put in hardwood floors and granite countertops for them too, while you are at it maybe throw in an inground pool in the backyard, and if you can come back and clean it for them every week that would be good too. 

I know what you are going through traveljunkie. Our house as been on the market since February. We are desperate but we won't give it away LOL. Phyllis thanks for the laught, we have made my day.

Travel Junkie,

We will list our house in late April or early May of 2009.  We will price it aggressively, but we will NOT give it away.  There is a big difference between a reasonable offer and a ridiculous offer.  You took the right action IMHO.

foxriverguy wrote:

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Travel Junkie,

We will list our house in late April or early May of 2009.  We will price it aggressively, but we will NOT give it away.  There is a big difference between a reasonable offer and a ridiculous offer.  You took the right action IMHO.

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We are planning to list ours by Nov. 1 this year to take advantage of the winter tourist season in SW Florida.  The real estate market in Naples is looking a little better with sales up quite a bit over last year.  However, much of that is due to lower prices as sellers realize they can't get the "bubble" prices from 2006!  We'll consult with a couple of Realtors and see what they have to say. 

We sure would like to become full-timers by next spring/summer! 


-- Edited by wmalefyt at 12:04, 2008-09-09

Bill's comment, to consult with local realtors is excellent advice. A good one can pretty accurately tell what your house will fetch in the current market. It's only worth what someone will offer for it. there's no such thing as a low ball offer, unless someone will pay you more.

I wonder, if Traveljunkie has to wait 6 more months to get the additional $30K, is that the wisest thing to do? House payments, utilities, taxes, maintenance, stress and frustration??

In the end you have to decide which is more important - receiving a certain price for your home, or getting on with the rest of your life.

JMO,

Fred

Don't know what area of the country you are in, but our house has been on the market for almost a year and a half. It seems our main competitors are bank owned homes. We have had only one offer in all that time and it was laughable. Our realtor said to not even counter offer. We are on our second realtor and have lowered as far as we will go.
We are waiting to buy our MH until we sell. Waiting patiently (I think).
cc
Fort Worth, TX

cc wrote:

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Don't know what area of the country you are in, but our house has been on the market for almost a year and a half. It seems our main competitors are bank owned homes. We have had only one offer in all that time and it was laughable. Our realtor said to not even counter offer. We are on our second realtor and have lowered as far as we will go.
We are waiting to buy our MH until we sell. Waiting patiently (I think).
cc
Fort Worth, TX

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That's the same problem we face here in Naples, FL.  Before the bubble burst speculators were buying up new construction at pre-construction prices and flipping them for an easy profit.  However, when the bubble burst many of them were left holding condos and homes they couldn't sell so many of them walked away from them. 

An article in today's local paper says home sales are picking up, but prices continue to fall.  We're hopeful that this winter will bring lots of snowbirds looking to buy their dream retirement condo in paradise!   We're also hopeful that we can find one of those buyers who will be willing to meet our price!

Luvglass wrote:

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House payments, utilities, taxes, maintenance, stress and frustration??

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Our county board of supervisors just last week voted in a 6.33 mil tax increase.  I can't wait to be on the road so all the above will be but a memory.

My wife and I have bought and sold six homes. When buying we always offer what we think the home is worth and that is normally far less than the seller is asking. Our experience has always been that when the seller counters, the price we end up paying is exactly half-way between the initial asking price and our initial offer. And when selling if we counter, the final price is also half-way between the two prices.

If I learn that the other side is offended by my offer or counter-offer, my interest in the deal is reduced. This tells me that the other side is too emotional rather than businesslike. Buying and selling homes are business transactions. Far too often, an emotional seller will remove things like the chandelier that is a family heirloom. Emotional buyers often make unreasonable demands. Of course, being “offended” can be a negotiating tactic. On the other hand, I saw the seller of our current home almost in tears over the deal.

When the seller gets an offer, the decision should be based on things like how many more house payments will be required if the offer is rejected, are the terms of the deal acceptable, and how likely is it that a better offer will be received.

Robert

-- Edited by Retired Guy at 11:43, 2008-09-14

I put my house on the market the 1st of August.  About 2 wks later one of the two people who looked at the house made an offer that was so low I wouldn't even consider it.  I told my agent "No, and I won't even bother to counter".  She passed the info along to the buyer's agent, who immediately pulled out another offer.  So they must have had two of them prepared and just tried the lower one first for kicks.  So don't let anyone intimidate you into feeling like you're the problem.  Good luck.
gypsy

Well, I thought I'd update you as to where things are at.  Right now we have a signed contract with the buyer - but still need to get through inspections and appraisals.  We came down on the price and they ended up coming up a little.  Where we wanted to be?  No, but the advice on this forum was taken to heart and we looked at the cost of the mortgage, taxes, snow plowing, utilities, and everything else we'd be paying until at least next spring or until the next offer came in (and there haven't been people lining up making offers )  We feel good about it, and are hoping that everything is going to work out  - please keep us in your thoughts!

I do think it was the buyer's realtor that was causing the problem.  After some slow negotiations, we were waiting for a response on a counter offer we made.   We received a call that the buyers were coming through for a second look.  Their realtor also told our realtor that they were going to be looking at several other properties as well.  Realtors always tell you not to be there for the showing and in most cases I agree, but this time we decided to stay.  We wanted to meet the buyers and be available for any questions.  Since the negotiations obviously weren't going our way, we decided 'what the heck? what can it hurt?'  Seems to me that it's harder to be unreasonable in negotiations if you've met the people you are working with.   So we stayed and met the potential buyers - they were very nice and did have a lot of questions and stayed for quite awhile.  Their realtor stood by, very tight lipped and we learned that they were not seeing any other properties.  Later that afternoon, we received a more reasonable offer and we were able to come to agreement.

Our fingers are crossed!

Congratulations! I think a year from now you'll look back on this time and be so happy you decided to move on with your life.

Hope to meet you on the road,

Fred

Well, the deal fell through.  They couldn't get financing - big surprise in the current state of economic affairs.  Our contract with the realtor ends October 6, so we are going to try BuyOwner.com through the winter.  We don't want to show an incredibly long market time on our house in the MLS with a history of price reductions, so we will probably wait until spring to relist with an agent.   Unless of course, a miracle happens and we can sell it buy owner in this horrible market!

If anyone has experience with FSBO sites - I'd love to hear them.  Right now BuyOwner.com looks the best to us and they market heavily in our area.

We sold our condo through a group such as you describe in Milwaukee. One of the tactics we used after reducing the asking price to reflect the fact that we didn't have to pay the 6% brokers fee, was to add a special bonus to the selling broker of $3000.
Just a thought,
Good luck,
Fred

Don't get discouraged over these times...things will change and houses will start to move. With so many folks not being able to buy a house now...when it does change we will have a glut of buyers out there scrapping to get in houses and you will be back on top. Hang in there and don't do anything crazy...what goes around comes around...believe me Speedy

Since you're not in a hurry, I guess it just boils down to how bad you want to be done with the whole matter.   You are definitely right, there's no reason for the potential buyers to be offended.   Business is business.   Could be they think you should be ready to give the place away just because the market is  bad, in which case I'd say, it'll rot first!  Good luck, we sold our house in April, lowered the price by 15,000 dollars and went full timing with no regrets.  It just depends on where your head is.   Have fun,    Dave

-- Edited by no hurry at 17:36, 2008-11-11